Herseth Sandlin Calls on Noem to Reject Campaign Support, Funding from Watergate Masterminds

Herseth Sandlin:  Noem Relying On Outside National Special Interest Groups to Do Her Campaign's Dirty Work

(Sioux Falls, SD)-Over the next 16 days, the American Action Network, an organization founded by a key player in the Watergate scandal and not required to disclose its donors, will spend $418,000 of completely untraceable money on TV advertisements against Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. Fred Malek, who is most famous for working for the Nixon campaign during Watergate, founded the American Action Network, which has been spending heavily in South Dakota on Kristi Noem’s behalf.

The New York Times reported this morning that “…the fund-raising practices that earned people convictions in Watergate — giving direct corporate money to a campaign and doing so secretly — are back in a different form in 2010.”

Malek’s American Action Network plans to raise and spend $418,000 here in South Dakota - and every dollar is completely undisclosed, unaccountable, and free from transparency.   Two other shadowy groups, the American Future Fund and Common Sense are spending $353,000 and $100,000 respectively using the same kind of undisclosed, unlimited national special interest money.  A number of radio stations across South Dakota have refused to run advertising produced by Common Sense because they deemed it inappropriate and offensive. 

“Kristi Noem needs to take a stand against the masterminds of Watergate who are trying to influence the outcome of the race for South Dakota’s lone Congressional seat,” said Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. “South Dakotan voters have no way to tell where this money comes from or whether these organizations care about any South Dakota priorities.  This is the difference in this election:  I'm focused on doing what's right for South Dakota, while my opponent is tied to national partisan special interests.” 

In addition, Kristi Noem has received donations to her campaign from Roger Hunt. Roger Hunt is known for being a proponent of the abortion bans that South Dakotans defeated in 2006 and 2008 and garnered attention for refusing to disclose the donor of a large donation to his PAC, which appeared to be founded solely to funnel anonymous donations, that was working for the abortion bans.

To read the full New York Times story entitled “Return of the Secret Donor,” click here.

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